Sportblog + Matt Stevens | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog+matt-stevens
model.DotcomContentType$TagIndex$@396c3fa1en-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2018Thu, 22 Feb 2018 07:49:55 GMT2018-02-22T07:49:55Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2018The Guardianhttps://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttps://www.theguardian.com
Matt Stevens the first big surprise of Lions 2013, with more to comehttps://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2013/may/04/matt-stevens-surprise-liond-2013
No one foresaw the inclusion of Matt Stevens in Warren Gatland's Lions squad, but this could turn into a summer of surprises<p>A surprise always brightens up a media briefing and Warren Gatland sprang one in the announcement of his Lions squad. Better a name from left field should pop out of his mouth than one of the barbs that have escaped in the past when the coach is off-guard through boredom. So, no pre-emptive swipe at the Australian nation, no riling of any of their – or his – players, no rash promise of total victory; just Matt Stevens.</p><p>The trouble with making a surprise of a prop is that any tingle meets the slump of incomprehension. A goosebump and a glazed eye, all at once. There is <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/jan/19/matt-stevens-drug-comeback-saracens" title="">the cocaine thing</a>, I suppose, with the ban and now this act of forgiveness, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/may/10/matt-stevens-interview-saracens-cocaine-ban" title="">a personal history that sets Stevens apart</a> a bit more than his background as a South African in the England team. But he's a prop and, to be honest, that's as far as most of us shall ever go in our understanding of what he does.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2013/may/04/matt-stevens-surprise-liond-2013">Continue reading...</a>Lions tour 2013Rugby unionBritish & Irish LionsSportMatt StevensWarren GatlandSat, 04 May 2013 20:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2013/may/04/matt-stevens-surprise-liond-2013Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty ImagesThe inclusion of Saracens' Matt Stevens in the Lions squad was unexpected, but scrum coach Graham Rowntree said the decision had been unanimous. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty ImagesThe inclusion of Saracens' Matt Stevens in the Lions squad was unexpected, but scrum coach Graham Rowntree said the decision had been unanimous. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty ImagesEddie Butler2013-05-04T20:00:00ZRugby union: Bath's Matt Stevens may have been stupid, but he needs to earn a livinghttps://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2009/jan/22/matt-stevens-cocaine-bath-rugby-union
Matt Stevens should be punished but as with the footballer Paul Merson before him, a bit of compassion should be shown<p>At the end of 2006, the Bath centre Alex Crockett was banned from driving for a year after crashing his car while over the drink-drive limit. He suffered knee-ligament damage in the accident which ruled him out for the season. His club said that while not condoning players who break the law, they would stand by him. Crockett is Bath's co-captain this season.</p><p>It remains to be seen what stance the club will take over their England prop Matt Stevens, who faces a ban of up to two years after a drug test revealed he had been taking cocaine. The club's initial reaction was one of angry disbelief and there was manifest unhappiness that the player had hired a public relations company on Monday immediately after being told about the test result to ensure he got his side of the story out first.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2009/jan/22/matt-stevens-cocaine-bath-rugby-union">Continue reading...</a>BathDrugs in sportEngland rugby union teamRugby unionSportMatt StevensThu, 22 Jan 2009 11:51:19 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2009/jan/22/matt-stevens-cocaine-bath-rugby-unionPhotograph: Warren Little/Getty ImagesMatt Stevens deserves some compassion from his club. Photograph: Warren Little/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Warren Little/Getty ImagesMatt Stevens deserves some compassion from his club. Photograph: Warren Little/Getty ImagesPaul Rees2009-01-22T11:51:19ZRugby union: Robert Kitson: Matt Stevens drugs bust provides cautionary tale of a generous, breezy and lonely mahttps://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2009/jan/21/englandrugbyunionteam-bath
Matt Stevens' drug problem has dealt another blow to the image of English rugby<p>Matt Stevens will never forget the day Barack Obama became president of the United States. Maybe he will ultimately count himself fortunate that the nightly news bulletins had slightly bigger fish to fry than a rugby player testing positive for a recreational drug. Maybe, too, he will look back at yesterday as a blessing in disguise, the moment when he was finally forced to confront what has clearly been a depressingly dark period in his life.</p><p>By the sound of it, this is not really a sports story at all. Mostly it is a sad, ­cautionary tale of what can happen when a gifted young man takes a high-profile job far from his native South Africa and struggles to cope with his dislocated circumstances. There have been anecdotal stories for years now about Stevens in various states of late-night disrepair.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2009/jan/21/englandrugbyunionteam-bath">Continue reading...</a>England rugby union teamBathRugby unionSportMatt StevensWed, 21 Jan 2009 00:05:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2009/jan/21/englandrugbyunionteam-bathPhotograph: Nigel French/EMPICS Sport/PA PhotosMatt Stevens, who has played 32 times for England, has failed a drug test. Photograph: Nigel French/EMPICS Sport/PA PhotosPhotograph: Nigel French/EMPICS Sport/PA PhotosMatt Stevens, who has played 32 times for England, has failed a drug test. Photograph: Nigel French/EMPICS Sport/PA PhotosRobert Kitson2009-01-21T00:05:02ZRugby union: Following England and Bath prop Matt Stevens's admission of drug taking, how should he be treated?https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2009/jan/20/matt-stevens-bath-drug-taking
The England prop has admitted taking a banned, though not performance-enhancing, substance. How should he be dealt with?<p>Earlier this evening, the Bath and England prop <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/jan/20/matt-stevens-drug-test-bath-england-rugby" title="">Matt Stevens was suspended after admitting failing a drug test</a> after a Heineken Cup match against Glasgow last month. The 32-times capped player told Sky Sports News: "I was tested for a prohibited substance but it's not performance enhancing, so you can take what you want from that. Like any drug problem you don't know it's happening and then it mounts up and before you know it you have a problem and an illness."</p><p>Stevens did not specify which drug he had tested positive for, but said: "It started off with just a couple of nights where you take it after a big night out with your friends. It wasn't a big deal, [but] that's the problem with drugs, it so quickly becomes a big deal."</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2009/jan/20/matt-stevens-bath-drug-taking">Continue reading...</a>Drugs in sportBathPremiershipEngland rugby union teamRugby unionSportPremiership 2008-09Matt StevensTue, 20 Jan 2009 18:01:52 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2009/jan/20/matt-stevens-bath-drug-takingPhotograph: Nigel French/EMPICS Sport/PA PhotosMatt Stevens, who has played 32 times for England, has failed a drug test. Photograph: Nigel French/Empics Sport/PA PhotosPhotograph: Nigel French/EMPICS Sport/PA PhotosMatt Stevens, who has played 32 times for England, has failed a drug test. Photograph: Nigel French/Empics Sport/PA PhotosOpen thread2009-01-20T18:01:52ZRugby World Cup: Robert Kitson on England's squad to play Tongahttps://www.theguardian.com/sport/2007/sep/25/rugbyunion.rugbyworldcup200710
Brian Ashton's decision not to reinstate Phil Vickery at tight-head prop reflects well on Matt Stevens, writes Robert Kitson<p>England have shuffled their pack for Friday's decisive Pool A encounter with Tonga in Paris but have declined to rush back their captain Phil Vickery. The head coach Brian Ashton has instead retained Martin Corry as skipper and called up Steve Borthwick and Lewis Moody in place of the Wasps' pair Simon Shaw and Joe Worsley.</p><p>The decision not to reinstate Vickery at tight-head prop following his two-match suspension for tripping Paul Emerick of the United States in his side's opening pool game is a significant selection which reflects well on Matt Stevens, the Bath prop who has impressed in Vickery's absence. It is also an endorsement of Corry's leadership in adversity against Samoa. "Phil's not played for two to three weeks ... the easy way to ease him back in was to bench him," said Ashton.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2007/sep/25/rugbyunion.rugbyworldcup200710">Continue reading...</a>SportRugby unionRugby World Cup 2007Phil VickeryMatt StevensRugby World CupTue, 25 Sep 2007 12:05:20 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2007/sep/25/rugbyunion.rugbyworldcup200710Robert Kitson2007-09-25T12:05:20Z